The present invention relates to life rafts having bailing systems and inflation systems and especially to stabilized life rafts employing wave action to assist such bailing and inflation systems.
Devices described in the prior art, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,282 to Kangas, employ hand water pumps for removing seepage water from a vessel. The hand pump exhausts seepage water through a hose having a check valve to prevent the inward seepage of water when the pump is not in use. One drawback of this method is that the occupant of the life raft must be sufficiently alert and mobile to operate the hand pump. In addition the seas must be sufficiently calm to permit the occupant to manipulate the pump. A further drawback to this approach is that the system requires a storage well from which the hand pump exhausts the water. In the case of rough seas, it may be very difficult if not impossible to bail such a vessel.
A water removal strategy is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,399,494 to Manson et al. This patent describes a life raft having essentially two decks. Water residing on the upper deck flows through openings into a space between the two decks, thereby draining the upper deck. The lower deck has openings through which water can pass from between the decks out into the body of water upon which the raft floats. This device, however, is not particularly suitable for persons seeking refuge in high seas.
In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a self bailing system for a life raft, including systems for stabilized life rafts adapted for use in the high seas. By various mechanisms which will be discussed hereinafter, the present invention provides a life raft which automatically bails water from the raft floor. The self bailing aspect of the present invention thus allows the occupants of the life raft to attend to matters other than bailing, such as sleep, medical care, and other activities necessitated by the circumstances.
Raft inflation systems known in the prior art include pressurized gas cylinders and valves which inflate inflation tubes of the raft upon deployment. Such systems may also include pressure relief valves which release gas from the tubes when pressure in the tubes exceeds a predetermined threshold. This may occur when wave action buckles the life raft causing it to deform and release gas from the inflation tubes. In addition, temperature drops may reduce inflation tube pressure. When the gas cylinders are spent, there is no additional source of pressurized gas with which to sustain inflation of the inflation tubes as needed. While hand pumps can be used to inflate rafts, as noted concerning the prior art mentioned above, hand pumps may be difficult or impossible to use in high seas to maintain inflation tube pressure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inflation system to inflate or reinflate a life raft on an as needed basis without relying exclusively on gas cylinders.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an inflation system for dynamic adjustment of pressure in the raft inflation tubes.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an inflation system which efficiently harnesses wave action and raft motion to provide dynamic adjustment of pressure in the raft inflation tubes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system to bail a life raft which does not rely on hand pumps.
Still further, an additional object of the present invention is to provide a bailing system for a life raft which harnesses the natural motion of the raft to effectuate bailing.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparant from this written description and appended drawings.